Apogee Instruments SQ-420X User manual

APOGEE INSTRUMENTS, INC. | 721 WEST 1800 NORTH, LOGAN, UTAH 84321, USA

TEL: (435) 792-4700 | FAX: (435) 787-8268 | WEB: APOGEEINSTRUMENTS.COM

OWNER’S MANUAL

USB QUANTUM SENSOR

Model SQ-420X

Rev: 16-Nov-2021

TABLE OF CONTENTS 
Owner’s Manual ............................................................................................................................................................................... 1 
Certificate of Compliance............................................................................................................................................................. 3 
Introduction.................................................................................................................................................................................. 4 
Sensor Models.............................................................................................................................................................................. 5 
Specifications................................................................................................................................................................................ 6 
Deployment and Installation ........................................................................................................................................................ 9 
Software Installation .................................................................................................................................................................. 10 
Operation and Measurement..................................................................................................................................................... 11 
Windows Software ..................................................................................................................................................................... 13 
Mac Software ............................................................................................................................................................................. 18 
Maintenance and Recalibration ................................................................................................................................................. 24 
Troubleshooting and Customer Support .................................................................................................................................... 26 
Return and Warranty Policy ....................................................................................................................................................... 27 
 

CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE

EU Declaration of Conformity

This declaration of conformity is issued under the sole responsibility of the manufacturer:

Apogee Instruments, Inc.

721 W 1800 N

Logan, Utah 84321

USA

for the following product(s):

Models: SQ-420X

Type: Quantum Sensor

The object of the declaration described above is in conformity with the relevant Union harmonization legislation:

2014/30/EU Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) Directive

2011/65/EU Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS 2) Directive

2015/863/EU Amending Annex II to Directive 2011/65/EU (RoHS 3)

Standards referenced during compliance assessment:

EN 61326-1:2013 Electrical equipment for measurement, control, and laboratory use –EMC requirements

EN 50581:2012 Technical documentation for the assessment of electrical and electronic products with respect to

the restriction of hazardous substances

Please be advised that based on the information available to us from our raw material suppliers, the products

manufactured by us do not contain, as intentional additives, any of the restricted materials including lead (see

note below), mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyls (PBB), polybrominated

diphenyls (PBDE), bis (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), butyl benzyl phthalate (BBP), dibutyl phthalate (DBP), and

diisobutyl phthalate (DIBP). However, please note that articles containing greater than 0.1% lead concentration are

RoHS 3 compliant using exemption 6c.

Further note that Apogee Instruments does not specifically run any analysis on our raw materials or end products

for the presence of these substances, but we rely on the information provided to us by our material suppliers.

Signed for and on behalf of:

Apogee Instruments, November 2021

Bruce Bugbee

President

Apogee Instruments, Inc.

INTRODUCTION

Radiation that drives photosynthesis is called photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) and is typically defined as

total radiation across a range of 400 to 700 nm. PAR is often expressed as photosynthetic photon flux density

(PPFD): photon flux in units of micromoles per square meter per second (µmol m-2 s-1, equal to microEinsteins per

square meter per second) summed from 400 to 700 nm (total number of photons from 400 to 700 nm). While

Einsteins and micromoles are equal (one Einstein = one mole of photons), the Einstein is not an SI unit, so

expressing PPFD as µmol m-2 s-1 is preferred.

The acronym PPF is also widely used and refers to the photosynthetic photon flux. The acronyms PPF and PPFD

refer to the same variable. The two terms have co-evolved because there is not a universal definition of the term

“flux”. Some physicists define flux as per unit area per unit time. Others define flux only as per unit time. We

have used PPFD in this manual because we feel that it is better to be more complete and possibly redundant.

Sensors that measure PPFD are often called quantum sensors due to the quantized nature of radiation. A quantum

refers to the minimum quantity of radiation, one photon, involved in physical interactions (e.g., absorption by

photosynthetic pigments). In other words, one photon is a single quantum of radiation.

Typical applications of quantum sensors include incoming PPFD measurement over plant canopies in outdoor

environments or in greenhouses and growth chambers and reflected or under-canopy (transmitted) PPFD

measurement in the same environments.

Apogee Instruments SQ-420X quantum sensors consist of a cast acrylic diffuser (filter), interference filter,

photodiode, and signal processing circuitry mounted in an anodized aluminum housing, and a cable to connect the

sensor to a measurement device. Sensors are potted solid with no internal air space and are designed for

continuous PPFD measurement in indoor or outdoor environments. The signal from the sensor is directly

proportional to radiation incident on a flat surface where the radiation comes from all angles of a hemisphere.

SENSOR MODELS

This manual covers the USB quantum sensor model SQ-420X. Additional models are covered in their respective

manuals.

Model

Signal

SQ-420X

USB

SQ-100X

Self-powered

SQ-202X

0-2.5 V

SQ-204X

4-20 mA

SQ-205X

0-5 V

SQ-421X

SDI-12

SQ-422X

Modbus

A sensor’s model number and serial number are

located near USB connector. If you need the

manufacturing date of your sensor, please

contact Apogee Instruments with the serial

number of your sensor.

SPECIFICATIONS

Calibration Traceability

Apogee SQX series quantum sensors are calibrated through side-by-side comparison to the mean of transfer

standard quantum sensors under a reference lamp. The reference quantum sensors are recalibrated with a 200 W

quartz halogen lamp traceable to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

SQ-420X

Resolution

0.1 µmol m-2 s-1

Calibration Factor

Custom for each sensor and stored in the firmware

Calibration Uncertainty

± 5 % (see calibration Traceability below)

Measurement

Repeatability

Less than 0.5 %

Long-term Drift

(Non-stability)

Less than 2 % per year

Non-linearity

Less than 1 % (up to 2500 µmol m-2 s-1)

Response Time

Software updates every second

Field of View

180°

Spectral Range

370 to 650 nm (wavelengths where response is greater than 50 % of

maximum; see Spectral Response below)

Directional (Cosine)

Response

± 5 % at 75° zenith angle (see Cosine Response below)

Temperature Response

-0.04 % per C (see Temperature Response below)

Operating Environment

10 to 60 C; 0 to 100 % relative humidity; can be submerged in water up to

depths of 30 m

Dimensions

24 mm diameter, 33 mm height

Mass

Sensor head weighs 90 g

USB Cable

4.5 m (15 ft)

Current Draw (when

Logging)

61 mA

Spectral Response

Mean spectral response of four SQ-100x

series quantum sensors compared to PPFD

weighting function. Spectral response

measurements were made at 10 nm

increments across a wavelength range of

350 to 800 nm in a monochromator with an

attached electric light source. Measured

spectral data from each quantum sensor

were normalized by the measured spectral

response of the monochromator/electric

light combination, which was measured

with a spectroradiometer.

Cosine Response

Mean cosine response of five SQ-

100X series quantum sensors.

Cosine response measurements

were made by direct side-by-side

comparison to the mean of seven

reference SQ-500 quantum

sensors.

Directional, or cosine, response is defined as

the measurement error at a specific angle of

radiation incidence. Error for Apogee SQ-

100X series quantum sensors is

approximately ± 2 % and ± 5 % at solar zenith

angles of 45° and 75°, respectively.

DEPLOYMENT AND INSTALLATION

Mount the sensor to a solid surface with the nylon mounting screw provided. To accurately measure PPFD incident

on a horizontal surface, the sensor must be level. An Apogee Instruments model AL-100 Leveling Plate is

recommended to level the sensor when used on a flat surface or being mounted to surfaces such as wood. To

facilitate mounting on a mast or pipe, the Apogee Instruments model AL-120 Solar Mounting Bracket with Leveling

Plate is recommended.

To minimize azimuth error, the sensor should be mounted with the cable pointing toward true north in the

northern hemisphere or true south in the southern hemisphere. Azimuth error is typically less than 1 %, but it is

easy to minimize by proper cable orientation.

In addition to orienting the cable to point toward the nearest pole, the sensor should also be mounted such that

obstructions (e.g., weather station tripod/tower or other instrumentation) do not shade the sensor. Once

mounted, the blue cap should be removed from the sensor. The blue cap can be used as a protective covering for

the sensor when it is not in use.

Nylon Screw: 10-32x3/8

Model AL-100

Nylon Screw: 10-32x3/8

Model AL-120

Important: Only use the nylon screw provided

when mounting to insulate the non-anodized

threads of the aluminum sensor head from the

base to help prevent galvanic corrosion. For

extended submersion applications, more insulation

may be necessary. Contact Apogee tech support for

details.

SOFTWARE INSTALLATION

The most recent version of ApogeeConnect software can be downloaded at

http://www.apogeeinstruments.com/downloads/.

Installing the software on a PC (Windows compatible, XP and later)

1. Double click on the installer package

2. On the ‘Welcome’ screen, please click ‘Next’ to continue.

3. Select the radio button next to “I Agree” to the UELA… and click ‘Next’ to continue.

4. On the ‘Ready to Install the Program’ screen, click ‘Install’ to continue.

5. Click ‘Finish’ to complete the installation. There are shortcuts on your desktop and in your start bar.

Installing the software on a Mac (Mac compatible, 10.10 and later)

1. Double click on the installer package

2. On the ‘Introduction’ screen, please click ‘Continue’ to proceed.

3. Select ‘Continue’ on the ‘Read Me’ screen to continue, this screen contains a history of updates made to

the ApogeeConnect software versions.

4. Select ‘Continue’ on the ‘License’ screen to receive a prompt to agree to the terms of the software license

agreement. Click ‘Agree’ to continue once you receive the prompt.

5. On the ‘Installation Type’ screen, click ‘Install’ to install the software. You can change the location the

software installs to by clicking ‘Change Install Location…’. *Note: You may be prompted for an

administrator password at this time. If you are, proceed by entering your respective password and clicking

‘Install Software’.

6. Once you receive the message “The installation was successful.” on the ‘Summary’ screen click ‘Close’.

Your software is now ready to be used.

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